Paper Talk
Diego Costa is facing a fight to maintain his status as Chelsea's first-choice striker.
Jamie Vardy says he wakes up in dreamland every day and that he moved his wedding in case Roy Hodgson gives him a call for the Euros.
Former Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert is the strong favourite to replace Blackburn boss Gary Bowyer who became the first casualty of the last international week of the year.
Cristiano Ronaldo is uncomfortable at Real Madrid as speculation about his future grows among Spanish press.
Pep Guardiola will be offered a staggering £17m-a-year to stay at Bayern Munich - and snub a move to the Premier League.
Chelsea must not sack Jose Mourinho despite shock slump insists ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Blackburn want former Watford boss Slavisa Jokanovic after sacking Gary Bowyer.
Jose Mourinho is furious with the League Managers' Association for not giving him more backing.
Chelsea transfer guru Michael Emenalo is the latest senior figure to feel the heat of the club's disastrous season.
Cristiano Ronaldo says former Manchester United flop Angel Di Maria lacks the desire that has helped make him an all-time great.
Football could be set to change forever with the release of a revolutionary square-toed boot.
Kevin Mirallas has warned boss Roberto Martinez he will look to quit Everton in January if he does not get more time on the pitch.
Gonzalo Higuain is loving life at Napoli and currently has no intention of leaving Serie A, according to his brother.
Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out managing another club after Arsenal but the Frenchman insists it will not be in England.
Manchester United and Arsenal both want to sign Chelsea starlet Charly Musonda.
Liverpool are preparing a bid for highly-rated Empoli attacker Riccardo Saponara.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says doping is rife in football.
The FA has hired a lawyer to try and reclaim £21m spent on the failed bid for the 2018 World Cup.
No Barcelona player has won a La Liga player of the month award since its inception in September 2013
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque says: "There is no English football any more, no authentic style."
Michu is hoping to resurrect his career with Spanish fourth division side Union Popular de Langreo after leaving Swansea.
Jose Mourinho has a worse record than any other Chelsea manager sacked by Roman Abramovich.
BBC
Pep Guardiola, 44, will be offered a staggering £17m-a-year to stay as Bayern Munich's manager - and snub a move to the Premier League. (Daily Mirror)
But former Bayern defender Willy Sagnol, now coach at Bordeaux, says Manchester City would be the perfect place for Guardiola to start a new project. (Manchester Evening News)
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says doping is rife in football after the Russian athletics drugs scandal. (Daily Telegraph via L'Equipe)
Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo is under pressure after a poor record in the transfer market. (The Sun)
Nice winger Hatem Ben Arfa, 28, says his life was hell while he was at former club Newcastle, where he was left to train with the reserves. (France Football - in French)
Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 19, is seeking loan move away from Stamford Bridge in January. (The Times - subscription required)
Manchester United are in pole position to sign Chelsea midfielder Charly Musonda, 19, who is frustrated with a lack of game-time at Stamford Bridge. (Metro)
Liverpool are reportedly preparing a bid for 23-year-old Empoli attacker Riccardo Saponara. (Daily Express)
Former Watford manager Slavisa Jokanovic, 47, tops Championship club Blackburn's list to succeed the sacked Gary Bowyer. Ex-Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert, 46, is another leading candidate. (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spoken of his admiration for Indian culture, in particular Mahatma Gandhi and his peaceful principles. (Daily Mail)
The Football Association has hired a lawyer to try to reclaim £21m spent on England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup. (Daily Telegraph)
Leicester striker Jamie Vardy was so confident of success when he joined the club from non-league Fleetwood Town in 2012 that he negotiated a clause in his contract for a bonus should he play for England. (BBC Radio 5 live)
Former Newcastle striker Mick Quinn believes the club need to sign a striker in January, but does not think West Ham's Andy Carroll, 26, is the answer. (Evening Chronicle)
Results of a vote reveal that the majority of participants want Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to improve the wing positions in the team. (Liverpool Echo)
Wales assistant manager Osian Roberts has urged young and fringe players to use Friday's friendly with the Netherlands to fight for a place in the Euro 2016 squad. (Wales Online)
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque says he won the World Cup for Spain by accident. (Independent)
Best of social media
New York City midfielder Andrea Pirlo, 36, appeared to confirm he would not be leaving the club, after posting a picture and tweeting: "Finally back to work #nycfc #BackHome #ny #StopRumours #PirloStyle."
And finally
World and Olympic long-distance champion Mo Farah wanted to name his son Arsenal but his wife Tania "wasn't having it". The 32-year-old is a long-standing Gunners supporter. (London Evening Standard)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Nick Miller
What is it that we all want from a transfer rumour? Is it plausibility, the sense that this isn’t all a pointless load of tosh and that some of this might actually take place? Is it the opposite, that this is all just escapism and reality has little or nothing to do with it? Is it the promise of big cash, the grim pursuit of the Sky Sports transfer totaliser making us judge the worth of anything simply by numbers and money? Is it the chance of amusement, that at least one, maybe even both sets of fans involved in a deal might be thoroughly irked by the whole thing?
The prospect of Manchester United moving for Alexis Sánchez satisfies at least two of those criteria, and depending on your point of view it might well tick another of the boxes too. This tale comes from our old pal ‘reports in Chile’, via our other chum ‘reports in Spain’, so make what you will about the veracity of this particular claim, but it’s an enjoyable one to start things off.
And you’d probably better squeeze the enjoyment out of that one, because there is not, to say the least, a great deal else to get you fizzing and excited in the world of transfer gossip. Oh, here’s one – Pep Guardiola will be offered a remarkable contract worth around £17m a year to stay at Bayern Munich, and thus keep him from the clutches of just about every club in England, who would seemingly drag their collective chins across broken glass to get Bavaria’s most high-profile v-neck jumper model. Guardiola will make his decision “entirely based on his own impressions” according to his agent, and you’d rather hope so too.
One of the places that would be delighted to have Guardiola is Chelsea, and of course there’s a big foam finger of blame being pointed in all directions for the clusterflip at Stamford Bridge right now, and today it is being aimed at Michael Emenalo, their ‘transfer guru’ who is in line for a smacked botty on account of their transfers, well, not being any good.
Should Emenalo leave Chelsea, he might want to share a cab to catch the Do One Express with youngsters Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Charly Musonda. The former is irked at his lack of first-team football and fancies a loan, quite probably to a Championship club in January, while the latter is irked at his lack of first-team football and fancies something a little more permanent. Manchester United are fans of the lad, it says here.
Liverpool! Remember them? Manager is the chap with the glasses. Wear red. Used to win stuff. You’d know them if you saw them. Apparently they’re rather enchanted with Empoli’s Riccardo Saponara, having sent scouts to watch the attacker with a January bid in mind. The bespectacled boss is also thought to be hot for winger Christian Tello, currently on loan at Porto from Barcelona.
What else … interested in Sunderland being keen on West Ham defender James Collins? Manchester United umming and ahhing over giving Jesse Lingard a new contract? Slavisa Jokanovic and Paul Lambert in the frame for the Blackburn job after they binned Gary Bowyer? No? Not fussed? Probably best we wrap this up now then.
Mirror
Sunderland target transfer of West Ham's James Collins for reunion with Sam Allardyce
By John Cross
The new manager wants to shore up his defence and sees the out-of-favour centre-back as ideal PLUS: Liam Bridcutt heads for Stadium of Light exit
Sam Allardyce is seeking a reunion with James Collins at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland boss Big Sam will be given cash to spend in January and a leaky defence will be his No.1 priority as he battles to keep the club in the Premier League.
Wales defender Collins, 32, played under Allardyce at West Ham and is seen as the type of strong, steady defender who can bolster the Black Cats.
Sunderland have struggled at the back – shipping six goals at Everton – with Allardyce powerless so far to stop the rot.
He wants experience and the board will back him with funds as summer signing Younes Kaboul has struggled to settle in.
Collins’ contract at West Ham expires next year and he has been battling to hold down a first-choice spot under Slaven Bilic.
Although he is in no rush to leave Upton Park, Sunderland might appeal to Collins with a decent deal on the table – even if he is thrown straight into a relegation scrap.
Soccernet
Chelsea, West Ham Chase After Nigerian Youngster
Chelsea and West Ham have started making moves as regards to the signing of Nigeria Under 17 international Orji Okonkwo.
According to allnigeriasoccer.com, representatives of the English Premier League clubs will jet into the country on Wednesday to begin contract talks with Orji Okonkwo’s mother and St Thomas Football Club, who own the forward’s economic and sporting rights.
Despite his lack of playing opportunities in the group stage at the Fifa Under 17 World Cup, the 17 - year - old still put himself in the shop window after scoring a 35 - yard screamer in the semi - final win over Mexico.
Prior to the tournament in Chile, Orji Okonkwo was dropped from the Golden Eaglets squad two times after falling out of favour with coach Emmanuel Amuneke.
He was loaned to Football College Abuja in November 2013 and the capital outfit did not pay a single kobo for his services, as no document was signed.
Sport Witness
West Ham and Newcastle in for same Bundesliga player
West Ham United and Newcastle United have been courting the same Bundesliga player, according to Germany's SportBild. This week's edition of the magazine has a big feature on clubs snatching away Bundesliga players and after all the big names and big money at the top of the Premier League, there's room at the end for perhaps a more realistic link.
SportBild say that both West Ham and Newcastle have an interest in signing Jannik Vestergaard from Werder Bremen, and that both clubs have been courting the player. Vestergaard is 23 years of age, a Danish international, and plays as central defender but can also operate as a defensive midfielder.
Vestergaard has a contract with Werder Bremen until June 2018 and SportBild reckon he's worth around €15m. West Ham and Newcastle have both been linked before with Vestergaard but SportBild's story isn't from a historical sense.
